Hankook Tire "Driving Habits Affect Fuel Efficiency and Tire Lifespan"

Pilot Application of Tire Monitoring Service for About 14 Months
Commercial Vehicle Tire Monitoring Service Test... "Provides a Solution to Reduce Vehicle Management Costs"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] It has been confirmed that drivers' driving habits affect fuel efficiency and tire lifespan.

Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) announced on the 14th that it has successfully completed a test of its commercial vehicle tire management service.

The tire management service is a system that attaches sensors to tires to monitor tire conditions in real time and links vehicle operation data with a management system for comprehensive analysis. Based on detailed analysis of driving habits, it is possible to provide drivers with cost-saving solutions for fuel and consumables.

Hankook Tire and domestic charter bus operator Ihwa Aviation Travel applied the tire management service on a trial basis for about 14 months from the second half of 2020 to 2021 on commuter buses in the Gyeonggi-do area. It was confirmed that driving habits such as rapid acceleration, sudden deceleration, frequent braking, and idling affect fuel efficiency and tire lifespan. In particular, it was analyzed that if driving habits improve and standard tire air pressure management is continuously maintained, an annual fuel saving worth about 1 million KRW and an approximately 20% increase in tire lifespan can be expected.

The test results confirmed that the more braking time and idling, the higher the tire wear and fuel consumption. Vehicles with the highest idling showed about 20% lower fuel efficiency compared to other vehicles. Frequent braking and idling often stem from driving habits.

Regarding tire air pressure, all vehicles showed a decrease during winter (December to April) due to external temperature effects. Compared to the standard air pressure of 120 psi, winter air pressure dropped to as low as 96 psi due to low temperatures. This represents a 20% difference from the standard. It is important to maintain and check vehicles at standard air pressure during winter, with focused management needed at least every two months.

Based on the test results, Hankook Tire plans to derive improvement guides in three areas?driver education, tire management, and vehicle management?for Ihwa Aviation Travel, and verify cost-saving effects through follow-up tests according to the solutions. Additionally, the company plans to expand its position from traditional manufacturing and sales to include customer perspective data analysis and utilization.

Kim Seong-ho, Executive Director in charge of Advanced Research at Hankook Tire, explained, “In addition to research on tire quality, we are expanding research fields to cover overall vehicle management and driving habits to provide efficient usage experiences from the actual customer perspective.”